On a chilly Thursday night, a door stands open to the warmth of a blazing fire in Dallas’ M Street neighborhood.
People walk in and out of a studio where the walls are plastered with posters of local bands and music legends. A singer croons from a worn-in couch while a guitarist stands nearby playing along. Everyone steps around the overly excited Labrador retriever running towards the turntables and technical equipment.
This is a typical night at
Swamphouse Industries, a recording studio started last fall by four SMU students.
“When we’re not doing schoolwork, we’re here making music,” said Chris Greco, 19, an SMU junior who runs Swamphouse Industries with juniors Mike McDonald, Jackson Butt, and Tony “The Boss” Gulla.
While still attending high school in Washington, D.C., Greco started a mobile DJ company called Mobile Club Enterprises. His first gigs were local high school dances and he later moved on to parties and clubs.
When Greco moved to Dallas to attend SMU, he met McDonald, Butt and Gulla and the four discovered a mutual passion for music.
“I had a full drum set, amp, guitar and the works in my room at the fraternity house, so we would all go jam in my room,” said Butt.
He said it progressed from there and they met more and more people who like to play music, and they decided to turn it into more than just getting together to play music. The new friends started brainstorming.
“We decided to start a business while we’re still getting our educations,” said Greco. “That way, we’ll work out the kinks and know how to do it when we graduate.”
The friends built the studio, worked on a business plan and made connections. They say they believe doing things hands-on is always the best learning experience.
Though their business cards each state a different position, such as manager or producer, Greco said, “There are no real positions; we’re just playing it by ear.”
McDonald explained that for one of their bands, they put the entire album together and took care of details like making sure the CDs have UPC codes so that if one was scanned at Best Buy, the information would come up.
They make sure the songs are copyrighted with BMI and Ascap, and take care of online distribution so songs can be found on Tune Core, iTunes, Raphsody and Amazon, among other things.
“We’re a full service, one-stop, take care of everything place for up-and-coming local bands,” said McDonald. “You’ll get the personal attention you won’t get from commercial companies.”
The studio is located behind the house Gulla and Greco share. It was once a carport that flooded every time it rained, turning the yard into a miniature swamp, hence the name Swamphouse.
They framed up the walls last year, making them sound proof and turned it into a recording studio in June. “It was a three to four month process,” said McDonald. “But now it’s up and running fast.”
It is fully equipped with professional-grade recording equipment, any instrument a band may need, and they use pro grade computer recording interface using Mac computers and Apple Logic Pro Software.
“All the gear we brought from previous music work experiences, personal investment, and help from our parents,” said Greco. “As of recently we’ve been funded by paying clients.”
The students put an ad on Facebook early last summer advertising an open jam session on a Saturday afternoon.
“More people showed up than we expected,” said McDonald. “And those are the people we started to work with, and also how we got together with the first band we signed.”
Right now, Swamphouse manages their first official band, The Rx, who have an alternative rock sound, and their own personal projects, Anon?mouse, a funk rock house DJ/rap group, and Nuggetron, an electronic funk livetronica group. They are also in the process of signing another band.
Greco said that they have also been going to venues and bars to build a good relationship with owners.
The Rx, consisting of lead singer Nick Brait, drummer Paul Gay and guitarist Tyler Reed, with McDonald filling in as temporary bassist, had a CD release party for their first record out with Swamphouse on Saturday afternoon.
After working for three nights a week, three to four hours at a time, for about two months, the band finally finished and released their record, “Ghosts in the Crosswalk,” named for their favorite song.
The band played two sets at the party while DJ Greco spun tracks in between, and the eclectic crowd of students who had heard about them responded well to both their SMU relevant tracks like SMU Girls, and to their covers.
SMU sophomore Evan Kasper, who heard of Swamphouse and the Rx through a friend, said “they perfectly blended old rock influences and brought it to a modern audience in a way that both guys and girls can enjoy.”
Reed says they owe a lot to Swamphouse, “because if we didn’t find out about this, we’d still be on Nick’s couch playing acoustic”. He adds, “Anyone at SMU interested in music needs to know about this, because it could be the musical outlet for students to exercise their passion for music.”
“We’ll make it a record label once we get funding and some know-how in the industry,” said Greco. “We’re planning to make it a successful business.”
The house (and studio) are not zoned for a larger business, so they need to move to a professional place. They are lining investors up so they can do it as soon as possible.
“We have a vague two year plan,” Greco said. “But this, or some sort of incarnation of this is, what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.”
